Isa ibn Muhanna

Isa ibn Muhanna (died May 1284) was the lord of Palmyra from 1281 to 1284 under the Bahri Sultanate of Egypt. Holding the titme of Amir al-Arab (commander of the Bedouin), Isa ibn Muhanna was a general of the Turkish Bahri Sultanate, best known for his campaigns against the Mongols of the Ilkhanate.

Biography
Isa ibn Muhanna was born to the al-Fadl tribe of the Arabian Peninsula, and his family typically held the title of Amir al-Arab, or commander of the Bedouin tribesmen. Isa was appointed to this title, succeeding his uncle Ali ibn Haditha, as a reward for his service in the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut and the ensuing campaigns against the Mongol Empire in Syria. He was on good terms with the mamluk commander Baibars, and in 1260 he accompanied Caliph al-Mustansir on his failed campaign against the Mongol Empire in northern Iraq. In 1265, he led a raid against the Ilkhanate at Harran to force the Mongols to end their siege of Birah, succeeding in diverting them.

Isa considered defecting to the Ilkhanids after Baibars halved his pay and took Bedouin hostages, but when Baibars found out of this plan, he admired the brave Isa's affirmation of his plans and decided to give him his money and people back in exchange for an oath of loyalty. In 1273, he led a raid on Anbar (present-day Anbar Governorate in Iraq) to stop the Ilkhanids from invading Syria, and in 1277 he was one of the generals at the Battle of Elbistan. In 1281, he led the right flank of al-Mansur Qalawun at the Second Battle of Homs, and he died in 1284.